AT 19, Saravanan A Rajah was hit by a 10-wheel truck along Jalan Anak Bukit. He was on his way to Ngee Ann Polytechnic, where he was doing his third year in the Banking and Financial Services course.

His right leg was crushed. So were his ribs and collarbone. His lungs were punctured. His brain was bleeding out. Just as his body was a wreck, so it seems, his future.

That was two years ago when the former long distance runner found himself bedridden for six months, and confined to a wheelchair for another 18.

He asked to continue taking his poly diploma at a later date. But three months later, he felt a sense of urgency to complete his diploma.

He contacted his poly to find out if he could take his exam at the hospital.

His poly went a step further.

When he was well enough to sit up in bed, five lecturers took turns to visit him at the hospital and his home to help him catch up with his school work.

They emailed him tutorial notes and questions in advance.

So he finished his diploma in five years longer than normal. Now 22, Mr Saravanan recently secured a full-time job as a bank officer at Citibank.

Joining him, likewise belatedly is Mohammad Zaki Jurani, 21, who has muscular dystrophy. He suffered a major seizure last year that left him in the intensive care unit for three months.

When he returned to school six months later, he was physically weaker than before.

NP made special arrangements to tutor him individually. During exams, a lecturer was assigned to write answers dictated by Mr Mohammad Zaki as his hands grew tired easily.

Mr Mohammad Zaki who is wheel-chair bound has completed his diploma in Information Technology.

They are among some 4,500 students who will graduate from NP from May 27 to 30.